1. If you turn off your TV, and avoid your computer, it’s amazing what you can get done on a weekend or during a day away from the office. Try a one-day experiment in this manner, and you’ll quickly realize how much time you (we) waste engaging in mindless activity.

2. Your entire week should be built around your priorities. Don’t let everyday tasks and annoyances get in the way of you pursuing your goals and dreams.

3. Try using checklists (not to-do lists, which are less detail-oriented) as a way of becoming more efficient and effective with complex tasks. For instance, I recently created a one-page checklist on how to come up with an idea for, create, and put on a one-day seminar. I will use this from now on with my seminars, and modify it as needed on an annual basis. I spent a total of thirty minutes putting it together, but it is comprehensive, and takes all the guesswork out of doing seminars in the future.

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Books I’ve read recently, or am currently reading and/or will finish this month:

1. Angelology, by Danielle Trussoni

2. The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle

3. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith

4. The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande

5. God Never Blinks, by Regina Brett

6. Rapt, by Winnifred Gallagher

7. The Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden had a philosophy for his players, whom he used to push to “be quick, but don’t hurry.” Wooden wanted his players to be mobile, agile, and fast, but not at the expense of being effective. When recruiting, he looked for these types of players, looking past the taller, more highly sought after players that other coaches coveted. In his career, Wooden went on to win ten national championships and over eighty percent of all the games he coached in college.

In life, being quick without hurrying takes on a slightly different connotation. It means:

• focusing on taking action on ideas
• staying flexible in your approach to problem solving
• staying alert for opportunities and moments to capitalize on in business and life
• not taking yourself so seriously, which bogs you down
• adjusting to the problems that life dumps in your lap instead of whining about them
• being open to changing boats midstream when yours suddenly springs a leak
• stressing effectiveness in everything you do

One of the great things about life is that each day provides us with another opportunity to improve our lives and our conditions. No matter what happens today, tomorrow is another opportunity to do things better. Make certain you are focused on how you respond to life’s events, and that you stay attuned to using problems as opportunities for self-betterment. This is the essence of being effective, and is a quality that separates those that achieve great things from those that wallow in mediocrity.

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